"Strong Towns taught me to look at my community in a totally different light."

We asked Strong Towns members to tell us why they joined this movement. Here's what they said:

Strong Towns members on a walking tour of Detroit,

"The Strong Towns message was saying all the things I had been sensing for a while, but couldn't find a way to put into words. Strong Towns taught me to look at my community in a totally different light."

~ Sean Emerson, Silver Spring, MD

"I've worked in the public sector for more than ten years. The elected official platitudes, chasing of the next bright shiny transportation object, and always talking about the lack of funding has left me frustrated. Combine that with the misinformation spread in the media and apathetic unawareness of the general public and you have the potential for pessimism. However, the Strong Towns movement has risen to cut through all of this and help to educate, inform, and provide much-needed pragmatism in public debate. The movement helps keep me going, knowing that there are like-minded individuals that want to help make cities function better, and more efficiently, but without compromising our financial future."

"Strong Towns has the potential to cut through all that murkiness with its clear, concise explanations of how we got here and move us more quickly to the path of recovery. They are performing a vital service to our country."

~ Susan Horst, Bellingham, WA

"Our community has recently gone through an assessment of our downtown to attempt to revitalize. Strong Towns gave me tools and language to address our planning committee and planners, and resources to point to as I began to engage city officials. It also equipped me to begin this process, identify who to approach and how, get involved in local government, not as a partisan but just as a concerned citizen who can work for change."

~ Curran Bishop, Carbondale, IL

"We cannot have a strong nation without strong, fiscally stable cities, towns, and places, and we cannot have these without understanding what creates productive growth and improves the wealth of a place over time. This is what the Strong Towns movement is about, and that is why it is important to me both personally and professionally."